Illegal Love
by Le Cosmonaute
Summary: Fried Green Tomatoes. Idgie is getting in deeper and deeper as she breaks more and more laws. But it's not just laws she's breaking...


This is based on Fried Green Tomatoes, the movie. I haven't read the book….yet.

Idgie heard a knock at the door and walked over to answer it, wondering whom it could be at this time. It was during one of the pastor's revivals and no one was home but Idgie.

She pulled open the door and saw Curtis Smooke, the officer, standing outside, his hat in his hands. It had been a two years since he had started coming to Whistle Stop, Alabama, and Idgie had been talking to him just that lovely June afternoon.

It was night out now, and it was warm, the stars sparkling overhead as Curtis waited on Idgie's porch.

"Can I help you, officer?" Idgie asked, feigning formality. Meanwhile she wondered hard about why he was there. The most he ever did was question her, and sometimes have small, meaningless conversations.

Curtis looked as though he was about to say something, but stopped and instead asked, "May I come in?" She gestured inside and shut the door behind him, leaning against the wall, arms crossed against her chest.

"Miss Threadgoode,"

"Idgie."

"What?"

"Just call me Idgie. We've been over this." He nodded somewhat nervously and said, "Idgie, I came to tell you that…. I want you."

"What?" Idgie's arms dropped to her sides and she stared at the nervous man in shock.

He nodded, said, "I'm sure you heard me, Idgie." She pulled herself away from the wall and walked to the middle of the room, standing sideways from the officer.

"I know I heard. I just don't understand." He somewhat painfully repeated what he had told her, and she tilted her head to look at him.

"For what? How do you mean?" she swallowed hard, nervously, and turned fully to face him.

"A few months after I left Whistle Stop, the first time I came here, I felt a need to go back. I couldn't figure out why, but I figured it was for the case." The case. The murder of Frank Bennett.

"So I came out time after time, for reasons made known. But then I found that it was something else. And every time you would sit down to talk, I felt better, like that was what I had been coming back for. So I thought on and realized…." He trailed off, but finalized what Idgie had suspected since he showed up on her porch.

After a while of waiting, of thinking, of incredulousness, Idgie asked, "Why?"

At first he seemed surprised at the question, but then said, "I don't know. I just….do." She searched him, looking for some sign that this was a ruse. A way to get a confession out of her. But as she searched, he moved forward, somehow unnoticed, until he had his arms around Idgie.

A strange sound came out of her mouth, but she didn't say anything until he said, "I mean it when I say that. I may not know why, but I know that I do." Idgie thought about what she should do, whether she should push him away or….

Laying her head on his shoulder, she returned the embrace, and Curtis seemed to relax more, but not entirely. After waiting for a minute or so to pass, he pulled away and stood inches away from her. Hesitantly, he leaned forward, allowing her time to pull away I she wanted, and pressed his lips to her.

A small shock resonated throughout the Bee Charmer and she realized that, for some reason, she didn't want Curtis to stop. Sure, they didn't know each other very well, but that could always come a little bit later….

There was some force drawing them together, a force that had made it clear that they should love each other. Maybe not love, but something like it, she guessed. There was also a force stopping them however.

Pulling away after long moments, Idgie said, "Isn't this illegal?" although she was still in his embrace. Curtis thought about it and said, "Yes." This made Idgie smile and she said, "But a strict officer doesn't care?"

"Not under these circumstances."

The following morning was the end of the revival, but Ruth had come back earlier than everyone else, to open up The Whistle Stop Café ahead of time. She walked into the house and up to Idgie's bedroom, looking for her best friend and business partner.

"Idgie?" she called, while walking up the stairs. "Idgie!" she called, this time louder. She knocked on the door and waited. After gaining no response, she turned the knob and pushed open the door, and stared at Idgie. "Wake up Idgie, we have to open up the café."

It was when Idgie pulled herself up and flopped back down again did Ruth see the person lying next to her best friend.

Covering a gaping mouth with her hand, she turned and jogged down the stairs as Idgie finally began to wake up.

Minutes later, Idgie was running down the street to where the café was and saw Ruth out on the porch. She smiled and said good morning and Ruth opened the door to the café, still in shock.

"Ruth? Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" Ruth shook her head, replied that she was fine and they finished opening up in silence.

In the afternoon, Ruth finally couldn't stand it anymore. She dragged Idgie into the back room and faced her, asking her the question that had been plaguing her for the last few hours.

"Who did you sleep with last night, Idgie?" she asked in a borderline-violent whisper. Idgie stared in shock (a common expression as of late) at Ruth. "I—I—No one," she said.

"Don't lie Idgie!" she whispered.

"I'm not!" she protested.

"I saw someone sleeping next to you when I went to wake you up!"

"Oh. Him. Yeah."

"So who was it?"

"How about we play the guessing game Ruth?" Ruth sighed in exasperation, but said, "Fine Idgie, fine." Idgie smiled and went back out to the café while Ruth pondered on whom it could be.

"It wasn't the sheriff, was it?" she whispered over Idgie's shoulder. "No!" Idgie said, coming close to a shout. All through the day, Ruth would whisper people's names over Idgie's shoulder, and Idgie would always reply the same way: No!

It was closing time and Idgie was washing the dishes when Ruth came up behind her and asked, "It wasn't Curtis Smooke, was it?!" Thankfully no one was around but Ruth to see the spoon Idgie was washing jerk out of her hand to pick it up. Stooping down to pick it up, Ruth said, "It was, wasn't it?"

"No! Of course not! Why would I sleep with him?" Idgie unconvincingly choked on her words as she said and Ruth said, "Idgie, you know that's dangerous. It could just be a way to get a confession out of you!"

"I know Ruth," Idgie said sadly, "I know."

During the next month's revival, Curtis came by Idgie's house again, at night, just like last time.

In bed, Idgie was half-lying on top of Curtis and her head was propped up on her arms. He had one arm around her, the other lying at he side and Idgie finally asked, "Curtis, this isn't some trick is it?"

"No, Idgie. Why would it be?"

"I know how keen you are to finish this whole case with Frank."

"I would never go this low," he said softly, seemingly hurt by her suspicion. Detecting it in his voice, Idgie pulled herself upwards and kissed him lightly. "I'm sorry. Ruth has been bothering me about it and I was getting worried." He stroked her hair and said.

"Ruth knows?"

"Well….she saw us….the first morning."

"She did?"

"Yeah, and she made a great game of guessing who it had been. She couldn't see your face."

"When did she get it right?" he asked.

"While we were closing. The game had begun in the morning. As I said, it was a great game." Curtis smiled at the lighthearted way Idgie took things and held her close to him.

"Idgie, I'm sorry that I have to continue the case." Referencing something he'd said a year back, she asked, "I thought you said no one was actually ordering you to do this."

"No one is."

"Well then why do you have to know?" she asked, showing her frustration at last. "I just do."

"You're not going to get away with everything by saying that," she said, teasingly, and breaking the talk about his case, to move on to better things.

The following night, he broke the question to her again while she was buried in his arms again.

"Idgie, just tell me the truth. Did you murder Frank Bennett?"

"You tell me the truth, Curtis. Why do you need to know?"

"I'm trying to prove you innocent. I need hard evidence to show to the boss."

"But you seem so convinced that I murdered him."

"I know. What I don't know is what to think. Part of me just wants to say, you're innocent, and the other doesn't."

"So now you need to prove it? For your boss and yourself?"

"Yes."

"Well then I'll tell you the truth. I did not kill Frank Bennett."

"I want to believe you Idgie. I really do."

"Well you should," she said. "Only a man with no sense at all would sleep with a murderer."

"That's not true," he said. "There are a lot of people who do."

"Okay," Idgie began. "But no man with any sense would knowingly and repeatedly sleep with a murderer." He agreed and kissed her, and the two tried to get some sleep.

When Ruth got back the morning preceding the one after Idgie and Curtis's conversation, Curtis was back at the inn he was staying at and Idgie was alone downstairs, out on the porch.

"Idgie!" Ruth called. When she reached the blonde woman, she sat down beside her, and said, "I heard Curtis was in town again." Idgie nodded vaguely and stared into the distance, thinking bout aforementioned person. "I also heard he wasn't at the inn the past two nights." Idgie shrugged and continued to think and stare, but still pay close attention to what Ruth was saying.

"Did you sleep with him again?"

Idgie looked her friend in the eye and said, "Why yes, and I quite enjoyed it." After sighing, Ruth said, "Idgie! He could just be using you. Waiting for you to slip up."

"Which is why I asked him. There's no way he could be."

"You don't know that. He could be lying, and in fact, that wouldn't surprise me at all."

"I'm sure it wouldn't," Idgie unnaturally muttered. "Idgie," Ruth said, "isn't what you two are doing illegal?"

"Loving each other?"

"Yes. Wait, love? It's come to that?"

"Yes, actually, it has."

"That must be illegal."

"It is."

"Then why?'

"Because the law cannot stop love."

"He is the law!" Ruth half yelled at the woman beside her.

"And yet he still disobeys it to be with me. Me! How could he be using me if he did something like that?"

"You'd be surprised at people Idgie. I'm surprised that you wouldn't suspect him."

"I did though."

"Not enough for it to matter," Ruth said.


End file.
